NASHVILLE — The 2010 governor’s race promises to be long and expensive, providing advantages to wealthy candidates such as Republican Bill Haslam and Democrat Doug Horne, observers said.

“Clearly, if you have money in terms of private wealth and you’re really ambitious to get in there, that makes all the difference in the world,” said Dr. Robert Swansbrough, a political scientist at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

Three current Tennessee officeholders — Democratic Gov. Phil Bredesen and Republican U.S. Sens. Lamar Alexander and Bob Corker — all are millionaires and opened their wallets to varying degrees in the past to help their campaigns.

Gov. Bredesen, for example, plunked down $2.9 million of his own money for his successful 2002 gubernatorial bid, state records show. He spent a total of $11.21 million while his Republican rival Van Hilleary raised and spent close to $7.8 million, according to records.

That same year, Sen. Alexander used $150,000 to jumpstart his GOP primary campaign, Federal Election Commission records show.

And Sen. Corker, a former Chattanooga mayor and developer, poured $4.1 million of his own money into his 2006 Senate primary and general election battle, according to federal filings. That money was 22 percent of the $18.5 million he spent to defeat Democrat Harold Ford Jr., who reported spending $15.3 million, according to FEC filings.

“Bob Corker was able to buy statewide name identification and that’s critically important,” said Dr. Bruce Oppenheimer, a Vanderbilt University political scientist.

Mr. Haslam, the mayor of Knoxville, is part of a family that founded Pilot Corp., a privately held national chain of truck stops. On Wednesday, Mr. Haslam, whose father and brother are major GOP fundraisers, met with Nashville-based reporters and estimated it will take “$5 million plus” for the GOP primary.

The mayor said he has a “very aggressive fundraising plan set up,” but he acknowledged “I won’t rule that (using own money) out.”

But he noted that “people have learned in campaigns that self financing is not a smart political answer,” citing Gov. Bredesen’s own acknowledgment of what happened in his 1994 campaign. In that campaign, out of a total of $9.5 million, he spent about $6.5 million from his own pocket, according to then news accounts. He still lost.

U.S. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., who is running for governor in the GOP primary, indicated he will not be intimidated by Mr. Haslam’s deep pockets. The congressman said while he might be outspent, he “won’t be outworked.”

Rep. Wamp had $549,982 remaining in his federal campaign account, according to his Nov. 24, 2008, FEC disclosure. But according to the Tennessee Registry of Election Finance Executive Director Drew Rawlins, “he can’t use that in any form or fashion to try to sway voters in a state race such as the gubernatorial election.”

On the Democratic side, former Tennessee Democratic Party Chairman Horne, whose business interests include a commercial real estate company operating in more than 20 states, said he is willing to spend some of his own money to run.

“I would put in what we need to put in,” said Mr. Horne. “I’d want to raise a lot of money. As everyone knows, you just don’t self fund.”

The advantages of self-funding rivals is not lost on Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, R-Blountville, who is interested in running for governor but is holding off until spring to decide.

“Obviously, the money in any statewide race is going to be a concern,” said Lt. Gov. Ramsey. “Some in the race have unlimited amounts of resources. I would not.”

Both Lt. Gov. Ramsey and state Sen. Andy Berke, D-Chattanooga, who is also exploring a possible gubernatorial bid, have another disadvantage: They cannot raise funds during the legislative session that starts Tuesday and must wait until the end of session or June 1, whichever comes first.

The ban only applies to legislative incumbents running for re-election and sitting governors, Mr. Rawlins said.

Tech Talk